10 things you need to know today

A
diver taking pictures while people look at sharks from an
underwater room structure installed in the Aquarium of
Paris.Reuters/Charles
Platiau

Here is what you need to know.

Janet Yellen's speech pushed back rate-hike
expectations. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair
Janet Yellen spoke in front of the Economic Club of New York,
saying that caution was "especially warranted" and that
"the pace of rate increases is now expected to be somewhat
slower." Those words pushed back market expectations of the next
Fed interest-rate hike. Before the speech, the market saw a 49.1%
chance that the next hike would occur in July, but those odds
fell to 39.5% as traders responded to Yellen. According to
Bloomberg data, November (53.6%) is the first meeting with a
chance of a Fed rate hike that is greater than 50%.

Chinese consumer confidence surged. The
Westpac-MI consumer-sentiment index climbed to 118.1 in
March, the second-highest level since May 2014. A reading of 100
shows an equal amount of optimists and pessimists. The internals
of the report were strong as all five subindexes saw gains. Most
impressive was the strength in current household finances
and durable buying conditions. "The PBOC's latest
RRR cut and the Chinese authorities' commitment to support growth
at the March NPC [National People's Conference], were at least in
part behind a more optimistic outlook for the economy," Westpac
said.

Japan's industrial production falls. Industrial
production in Japan slumped 6.2% month-over-month in February,
which was worse than the 5.9% drop that had been expected by the
Bloomberg consensus. The drop in output came amid weak demand for
exports and as an explosion at a steel mill froze domestic car
production at Toyota Motor Corp. February's drop was the biggest
since the twin natural disasters of March 2011. The Japanese yen
is weaker by 0.3% at 112.31 per dollar.

The Bank of Korea warned on growth. Bank of Korea
Governor Lee Ju Yeol said South Korean growth would probably fall
below 3% in 2016, Bloomberg reports. Earlier this year, the
central bank projected 3% growth and 1.4% inflation. Those
numbers are likely to change when the bank releases its new
economic outlook on April 19. As for the new BOK board members
being "dovish," Lee noted, "members' policy decisions
change when economic situations change." South Korea's won
strengthened by 1.1% to 1,151.09 per dollar.

The Asian Development Bank sees slower growth for developing
Asian nations. The ADB lowered its 2016 growth
forecast for developing Asian nations as a result of the
continued slowdown in China and the weak recovery in major
industrial economies. The bank now sees growth of 5.7% for this
year, down from its previous forecast of 6%. "Despite these
pressures, the region [Asia] will continue to contribute over 60%
of total global growth," ADB's chief
economist, Shang-Jin Wei, said after the release of
the report.

Foxconn
is buying a big piece of Sharp. Foxconn is paying
$3.5 billion for a 66% stake in the struggling electronics maker
Sharp. According to Reuters, there was a reported $4.4 billion
agreement between the two sides back on February 25, but Foxconn
decided it wasn't ready to move forward at that time. "I am
thrilled by the prospects for this strategic alliance and I look
forward to working with everyone at Sharp," Foxconn founder Terry
Gou said in a statement.

Boeing announced job cuts. The planemaker announced
it would eliminate 4,000 jobs in its commercial airplane division
by the middle of 2016. The cuts will come through 1,600 voluntary
layoffs and by leaving open positions unfilled, Reuters reports.
Additionally, 550 jobs in a flight and lab testing division and
about 570 jobs in its test and evaluation division will be
eliminated. "While there is no employment reduction target,
the more we can control costs as a whole the less impact there
will be to employment," spokesman Doug Alder said.

Stock markets around the world are mostly
higher. China's Shanghai Composite (+2.8%) led in Asia,
and France's CAC (+2%) paces the advance in Europe. S&P 500
futures are higher by 12.75 points at 2,060.25.

US economic data is light. ADP Employment Change
will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, and crude-oil inventories will
cross the wires at 10:30 a.m. ET. The US Treasury will auction
$28 billion worth of seven-year notes. The seven-year yield is
trading up 1 basis point at 1.60%.